Since January 2005, Austin International Rescue Operations, Inc. (AIRO) has been working with local communities, Indonesian authorities and international aid organizations to provide long-term sustainable livelihood recovery and reconstruction to tsunami-affected areas of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia.

AIRO has a proven track record of successfully managing local resources – providing project development, quality control and/or project completion. The executive management background of AIRO staff has afforded the organization a keen sense of efficiency and effectiveness in an often challenging work environment.

AIRO remains committed to the long term rebuilding of Aceh & Nias and is available to collaborate with other relief organizations wherever project and resource management, quality control and project completion are required.

A Message from Eddie

It will be 4 years running this January since AIRO first joined the world’s response to one of the worst natural disasters of all time, the Asian Tsunami of December, 2004. Some 150 fishing boats, dozens of fishing nets, quality boat building workshops, truckloads of tools and the Queen of Spain later, AIRO remains engaged and contributing.

Both Eddie and Aaron Anderson, otherwise known as “Kedua”, continue working in Aceh. They may be with different organizations but both are contributing to the long-term development and capacity building throughout Northern Sumatra.

And AIRO continues – currently building an original INS-15 design using FAO 12-meter specs on their “Shaft-Log System” metered up to a 15-meter transport vessel. The extra-wide design is built for comfort and stability and will house 2 births below deck, a cooking area and a bathroom. It is the largest boat built to date in the AIRO KR facility.

Pk Marzuki reviews hull work on the biggest AIRO boat yet, a 15-meter long, 4-meter wide transport vessel! AIRO secured the Krueng Raya boat building workshop property on a 10-year lease for Pak Marzuki and company (a mostly family company!) to work and manage their own contracts.

Aaron Kedua has taken a position with the International Labour Organization as an operations specialist, supporting badly needed infrastructure development on each of the Tsunami affected coasts.

Eddie is now engaged with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to manage the establishment of marine livelihood service centers in 8 strategic fishing estuaries around Aceh. The centers will include information technology and radio communications equipment with months of training once the centers are built and the equipment installed. Activities are designed to build the capacity of Panglima Laot (sea commanders) officials who control the local fishing estuaries. Boats and nets were provided to help them catch more fish through material transfers; this project is designed to help them get a better value for the fish that they catch through information transfers.

And what about 2009? AIRO is interested in exploring opportunities to expand the production facilities and worker skills at the Krueng Raya boat building workshop. These may include anything from alternative boat materials such as fiberglass or aluminum, to commercial construction framing and even possible furniture production. AIRO-Head wanna-be’s need only email Eddie or Aaron Lyman of their interest to get involved in these project developments.

Fiberglass boats or unique furniture lines, AIRO will maintain a presence in Aceh through 2009, and beyond. What started out as a “3-hour tour” has turned into 4 years of successful emergency relief and long term development activities, partnerships and incredible life-enriching experiences that continue today. Long live AIRO!

Eddie Bloom15-November, 2008

AIRO Partners with Over the Edge, Inc. Bungee Jumping

Eric Lyman, lifetime AIROhead, has founded Over The Edge, Inc. Bungee Jumping. OTE partners with AIRO in various charitable activities. More information as follows:

On 26 December 2004 a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck less than 90 miles from the shores of Northern Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. The quake sent a 30-meter ocean swell traveling 500 mph under water for a direct hit on the Indonesian island’s western coast. Aceh Province, the most northern located area of the island, was clearly the worst hit area anywhere.

The combination 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami was deadly and destructive, leaving over 250,000 Acehnese dead or missing, and causing massive disruption to the area’s once productive infrastructure. On 28 March, 2005, yet another earthquake, of magnitude 8.7, struck within 100 miles of the one on 26 December, causing further damage and claiming another 2,000 lives in the area.

To date the relative toll of dead and missing underscore the immensity of the disaster for Aceh:

Since January 2005, Austin International Rescue Operations, Inc. (AIRO) has been working with local communities, Indonesian authorities and international aid organizations to provide long-term sustainable livelihood recovery and reconstruction to tsunami-affected areas of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia.

AIRO has a proven track record of successfully managing local resources – providing project development, quality control and/or project completion. The executive management background of AIRO staff has afforded the organization a keen sense of efficiency and effectiveness in an often challenging work environment. AIRO remains committed to the long term rebuilding of Aceh & Nias and is available to collaborate with other relief organizations wherever project and resource management, quality control and project completion are required.

AIRO’s Approach to Relief Work:Projects are selected to maximize benefits with long-term, sustainable relief. AIRO projects are designed to create positive ripple effects to all related sectors of the local economy. This approach helps revitalize entire villages by magnifying the impact of every relief dollar spent. AIRO’s relief work guiding principles include:

*Employing local workers and craftsmen with expertise in local resources, needs, traditions, and beliefs*Promoting local capacity building and ownership*Maintaining on-site staff for consistent quality control with full language capabilities & cultural sensitivities*Offering professional management services & accountability to all partners, vendors & Indonesian authorities*Long-term commitment to efficient and effective expenditure of all AIRO resources.

December 26, 2008 marks the 4th anniversary of the devastating tsunami and January 2009 marks AIRO's 4th year of rebuilding and reconstruction in Aceh. While there has been huge progress, there is still much to be done.

2008 has been a year of change for AIRO. From day one, we have tried to create an atmosphere where our boat making crew could eventually be self-funding and self-driven by the Indonesian people themselves. We designed an organization and provided the tools, training, facilities and initial projects that could enable them to be self-reliant. AIRO recently negotiated and paid for a ten-year lease on the Krueng Raya boat making facility IN ADVANCE. This means these workers and their families, together with the hundreds of direct recipients of the boats and fishing gear that they produce have the tools to make a lasting and sustainable livelihood.

AIRO has been able to accomplish a self-sustaining organization by empowering the people of Aceh while diminishing the direct AIRO management of projects there. While Eddie Bloom and Aaron Anderson continue to work in the area to support the fishing industry, they are now working directly for other organizations with a continued voluntary status with AIRO.

What does all this really mean? A few months back, I was visiting and working with the guys in our little facility in Krueng Raya and as I sat under the coconut trees on the edge of the Indian Ocean and watched the scene, I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of our success there.

We have about 15 workers in the AIRO boatyard. Young mothers were scurrying about, chasing little children and making preparations for dinner and baths. The men of the village were cutting and planing fine hardwoods, then brushing-in resins and sealants. They were adjusting boat engines and building forms and patterns. While saws were whirring and planers were singing, I realized just how far we have come since our early days of wondering how we could possibly make a difference.

I realized that these things have been possible through the amazing support of all of you, AIROheads of the world. You understand and TAKE ACTION. Around the world or across the street, you care about others and find ways to serve.

John Donne said:

"No man is an island unto himself. Each is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. Each man's death diminishes me. For I am INVOLVED in mankind. Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. "

Our ongoing mission: hope and dignity for the people of Aceh.

Please enjoy the updates to the website and thanks again for all your support!

AaronPresident AIRO

AIRO Commits to Long-Term Rebuilding & Reconstruction of Aceh & Nias

With the modest start up of just ten 9-meter fishing boats built for the village of Krueng Raya, AIRO has now gone on to complete nearly 100 quality fishing boats and large vessel renovation projects. At the same time AIRO went from “just 3 guys from Texas” wanting to offer hands-on assistance to full US 501(c)3 non-profit status and Indonesian Yayasan AIRO distinctions.

AIRO continues to earn recognition and praise from both Indonesian authorities and other NGOs – along with some notable dignitaries, like the Queen of Spain! - as one of the most efficient and effective aid organizations still operating here. Today AIRO enjoys the reputation as one of the best boat builders in the province!

The AIRO Krueng Raya boat building facility has been operational since early 2005, a few weeks after AIRO arrived in Aceh.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Aaron Lyman directly at 1-512-750-5096, or at alyman@austin.rr.com